Feministival

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

On “feminist men”...

On “feminist men”

After we made a call to feminist men for works like cleaning, childcare and cooking which needs to be done during the festival, there arose a subject that we as the organization group had never discussed, Could men ever become feminist?

By believing that there is no generally accepted truth about this subject, we share a comment that is send to our e-mail group and invite everybody to discussion:

I havent read the book, “ Feminism is for Everbody” but I take the content of this expression in that way : Feminism has a word for everbody. Everbody could find a word, a form of expression about himself / herself in feminism. In this context, I can respond to the question, “Can there be feminist man?”with another one “ Why not?” Because feminism has also a word for men in my opinion. However, with a final analysis, feminism is a struggle that is based on women’s liberation and, defends organization of women with women or with a broader expression, of the ones who go through womanhood experience with each other , for me.

Owing to the researches of manhood for which feminism paved the way, today we know that men are oppressed as well in different ways under the gender roles that society imposes on them. Objection to this is of course very important. As women’s questioning their “womanhood”s, men’s questioning their “menhood”s by men’s organization only with men will open the way for men’s liberation.

At exactly this point, the question I wonder about is why men want to be feminist. In my opinion, feminism forms the most significant ideological line of the struggle with patriarchial system ; however, the only and unique way of struggle with patriarchial system is not feminism.

If men rebel against the roles which patriarchial system imposes on them – I think they should-, why don’t they define a struggle line for themselves? If they form such a struggle line, I believe, as feminists, our solidarity with the ones who struggle in this area and creating common works in intersecting agendas will enrich the liberation struggle of all of us. (Senem Donatan)